One Lucky Bug
by Casa Circe
Summary: The Chinese believe that crickets were bringers of good luck. Regina was beginning to think that they were on to something.


One Lucky Bug

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story. It's called fan fiction for a reason.

Note: Oh no, I did it again. I have tons of schoolwork to do but this plot bunny would not leave me alone so I had to get this written down before going mad. But this should be the end of my fan fiction writing for the moment since I really have so much work to do.

A little fluffy one-shot for my favorite ship on the show. It was meant to be much lighter but things got out of my control and there are some serious undertones. But it gets light again in the end.

Need I say that this was inspired by Disney's "Mulan"?

Hope you like it!

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The Chinese believe that crickets were bringers of good luck. Regina was beginning to think that they were on to something.

For the first time in a long time, things were going her way without magic being involved. It was a strange feeling, an inexplicable lightness in contrast to the burden of guilt and shame that magic would always impose on her. And she was gradually getting used to it. She would even go so far as saying she was feeling better than she had in many years.

Her sessions with Dr. Hopper continued on a more or less regular basis and were proving to be very helpful. She never realized how good it felt to be able to talk about her painful past, to release years of pent-up emotions that had been a constant burden to her. Little by little, she felt herself growing stronger, even without magic.

She was also trying to get used to the novelty of having someone genuinely concerned for her welfare. It had been such a long time since anyone had shown that they cared about her. Henry had certainly never shown such attention even when she showered all hers on him. And everyone else had lived too much in fear or hatred of her to give any thought to how she was feeling. So it greatly astonished her to see Archie Hopper listening intently to all her ranting and giving her sound advice for every issue. He, who was also one of the victims of her curse, had chosen to show her kindness in spite of all she had done.

At first she had been suspicious of him, fearing some hidden agenda, as was often the case with people who were kind to her. She tried to figure out what his ulterior motives would be for spending time with her. But the more she talked to him, the more she realized that it was truly in his nature to help people, no matter who they were and what they had done. And while she still could not fully understand why he was doing all of this, she was learning to trust him and she appreciated his friendship.

But the effect of Archie's influence was not confined to the sessions in his office. A few weeks after she started seeing him, Regina noticed a profound change in the way the rest of the town looked at her.

When the curse first broke, everyone had viewed her with undisguised hatred and she would return his or her glares with fiercer ones of her own. There was no love lost between her and the people of Storybrooke and there could be no doubt as to why this was so. It was only through Henry's request that they spare her life that she was allowed to walk the streets in relative safety.

But after she began having sessions with Archie, many things changed. It was no secret that she was going to his office for counseling sessions but sometimes, she and Archie would also meet for coffee at Granny's, thus subjecting them to the public eye. There were also several occasions when they were seen walking together on the street since some of their discussions required a short break and a breath of fresh air. So as expected, they were often the focus of people's attention whenever they appeared in public together.

Regina expected angry glares and critical glances so her defenses were always up and she was ready to glare back at the others should they meet her eye. But to her surprise, most of the looks were more of puzzlement than of anger. People weren't happy about seeing her with Dr. Hopper, most of them fearing for his safety, but they were also confused at how he was able to walk with the Evil Queen without being turned into anything unnatural.

Archie took all of this in his stride and did not seem the least bit bothered by it. He conversed easily with her and greeted his friends and acquaintances on the street casually, acting for all the world like it was completely normal for a former cricket to be taking a stroll with the once evil queen who had cursed their land for nearly three decades. Because for Archie, there really was nothing wrong with being seen with Regina.

"Don't concern yourself with what others think of you, Regina," he counseled her, "dwelling on the opinions of others will only hinder you from knowing yourself better."

"I can hardly avoid it," Regina replied, "when I know that everyone here hates me, and with reason."

"Now, that's not true," Archie said, "don't be too hard on yourself."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"For starters, I don't hate you," he explained, "and Henry doesn't hate you. And I'm willing to bet that Snow doesn't hate you as well, in spite of everything. She was never one to keep deep grudges. In time, the two of you might even be able to work something out."

"You're very optimistic," Regina said sardonically.

Archie sighed but was not discouraged.

"There are people who are willing to give you a chance, you know," he continued, "but it will only work if you give yourself a chance as well and let them in."

She looked at him for a few moments before nodding.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said simply. And for the moment, that was good enough for Archie.

So life went on, but gradually, things were changing for the former queen.

For one thing, people no longer shot death glares at Regina whenever they saw her. At least, not as often as they used to. Somehow, they were beginning to tolerate her presence and some may have even accepted that she truly had no way of bringing back their land. Others were even starting to believe that she truly had given up on magic. After all, if she hadn't, surely she would have done some damage by now.

And then, much to her relief and joy, Henry began to show some real affection to her. At first, he would simply communicate to her through Dr. Hopper, asking the man how his mother was doing and telling Archie to extend his greetings to Regina. Even such a small gesture was enough to greatly lift the lady's mood and she grew even more eager to change for the better.

Later on, when Henry expressed a genuine interest in seeing his mother again, Archie managed to convince David to allow the boy to visit Regina occasionally. The prince reluctantly agreed but on the condition that Archie would be there with them. Regina didn't mind this as long as she got some time to spend with her son. And Archie did try his best to give the two as much privacy as he could. These meetings would not be very long, usually just sharing some hot cocoa at Granny's after school, but every moment meant the world for Regina. Henry was also beginning to see his mother in a different light, and the vision of the evil queen was gradually fading from his young mind.

So things were working out pretty well for Regina, in ways she never thought possible. Weeks passed without her ever resorting to magic and yet she felt happier than she had in years. And she knew that owed a lot of this progress to Archie Hopper.

One day, after a particularly satisfying meeting with Henry at Granny's, Regina found herself thanking Archie for the first time. She wasn't very used to doing something like this but her expression of gratitude was sincere and Archie knew it.

"You know, I never told you how much I appreciate your helping me," she began hesitantly, "none of this would have been possible if you didn't persist in trying to get me to talk about my problems."

Archie gave a small laugh at this, but he did not mean to discourage her.

"So, thank you," Regina continued, "for everything."

"You're very welcome," he replied with a smile, "but you should be giving yourself more credit. You've been working very hard to keep your promise to Henry, and now you can see that all your efforts have been paying off."

"Nevertheless, you've been a big help," Regina said, and then, with an almost wicked twinkle in her eye that made Archie slightly apprehensive at first, she added, "in fact, I think you're my lucky bug!"

And with that she flashed him a bright, sincere smile that seemed to make her years younger. Archie was taken aback by such a compliment and by the sudden but not disagreeable change in her demeanor. For a few moments, he was at a loss for words.

Normally, being referred to as a "bug" only brought pain and embarrassment to Archie Hopper, even after living for many years as a cricket. But for the first time, he didn't really mind it at all.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he said, returning Regina's smile somewhat shyly, "one lucky bug."


End file.
